The law should be changed so that the clinical skills and competency in English of doctors from other countries in the European Union can be checked, MPs have been told.

The General Medical Council said that the government should consider urgent action to change legislation so that GPs coming from Europe to work out of hours shifts in the UK would be thoroughly tested.

Representatives of the GMC were giving evidence to MPs on the parliamentary health select committee as part of their inquiry into the use of overseas doctors in providing out of hours services.

The committee’s inquiry was sparked by the case of David Gray, …